The Four Building Blocks
Rapid Culture Assimilation™ succeeds on a foundation of four Building Blocks:
Building Block #1: Clarity
You know exactly where you want the organization to go, and what the future looks like, right?
Ah, but does everyone else share the same vision? Sadly, and despite your many PowerPoint presentations, probably not. Using an adaptation of the Teachable Point of View (TPOV), a powerful communication tool developed by Harvard instructor Noel Tichy in the 1990s, we will guide you in the creation of your own teachable point of view. This concise and powerful statement will serve as a reference document for the entire organization, creating clarity and a common language for the new future.
Building Block #2: Conversation
Change is far easier to implement when everyone impacted has an opportunity to examine the changes and have a say in how they will make the shift from their current to the new reality. The second part of RCA is a series of structured, facilitated conversations with as many people in the organization as is practical.
We begin with the top leader’s direct reports, expand to all managers, and then to the front line staff. In each round, participants engage directly with you, the top leader, to understand – and even challenge – your vision and get clear on what you are asking of them. In addition, you serve as both Teacher (of the common language) and Requester (inviting them to embrace the future you have declared as they customize it to themselves). The conversation reduces uncertainty, and opens the door for the next stage, commitment.
Building Block #3: Commitment
“Talking about it” is not enough – eventually, your Request for change must be matched with a Promise of action. Following a thorough examination of what is expected, participants in each conversation work as a group to study the leader’s teachable point of view and adapt it as their own. They declare – in writing and to an accountability partner – the specific behavioral changes they commit to such that they can deliver the new outcomes required of the organization.
Building Block #4: Coaching & Accountability
Old habits often overwhelm new commitments. To support the momentum of the change, we provide executive coaching support to you, the top leader, to help you make the behavioral changes you promised and to help you effectively coach your own leadership team. In addition, we provide group coaching for key leaders, to help them manage their own and other’s setbacks and to reinforce the new culture. Finally, we work with internal resources (e.g. Human Resources or key line managers) to ensure they are on board with the process from the beginning so that the organization fully owns the process and can keep all organizational players clear about — and accountable to — their commitments.